foundered

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Henry Ford’s first two automobile-manufacturing companies foundered before the Ford Motor Co. opened in 1903, changing the world with Ford’s dream of an automobile that the average American family could afford.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

Instead, they foundered in the breeze, squeezing out whatever bitter juice was left in a dirge that would prove to drag on for at least another week.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 2026

McColl's firm invested £28m, replacing or renovating old buildings and installing new cranes, but that journey towards becoming a 21st Century shipyard foundered as construction of the big gas-powered ferries ran into the sand.

From BBC • Sep. 13, 2025

And for decades, every attempt to create legal access has foundered on the rocky shoals of property rights and lumbering bureaucracy.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2025

They could hardly believe they had not foundered, and they prayed they would not see another wave like that one again.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong